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A Mom's mission to ditch the gluten and sugar, cook real food that her husband and toddler will eat, all while attempting to maintain her sanity!

Martha Madness : Driven to Beets

It is no secret that I'm obsessed with Martha Stewart. Ever since childhood, I've been mesmerized by her ability to create magical confectionary kingdoms, transport you to faraway lands with her cooking adventures, and add warmth to the home with a myriad of craft projects.

As a child, I would spend hours watching and re-watching her Thanksgiving and Christmas specials; jotting down copious notes of tips and recipes, tenaciously trying to convince my less than enthusiastic mother to help me prepare them. Nowadays, I don't have time to devote to such lengthy followings. Instead, I religiously devour Martha’s monthly magazine, “Living,” seeking out whatever hidden treasures she plants.

This past month, my eye landed on a recipe for Beets & Cauliflower Soup. Now I can’t explain this, as I HATE beets but Martha just inspires me do things no one else can!! As a nutritional counselor, I’ve been looking for ways to encourage clients to eat beats and appeal to non-believers such as myself. So having just received a bundle of beets from our winter CSA share, I declared – “If anyone is going to help me like beets, it would be Martha!”

Once again, Martha did not disappoint. Here is the recipe, which I’ve adapted below:

Family Rating **** (4 out of 5 stars)

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I'm Too Tired! No Longer an Excuse

Fatigue and sluggishness may zap your motivation to workout. However, studies show, that moderate amounts of exercise, 30mins 4x/week, will drastically improve quality of sleep and reduce daytime sleepiness.

Don’t find stuffy gyms appealing? Why not try running? Running is the least expensive form of exercise in terms of both time and money. All you need is running shoes, and perhaps gloves and a hat for the winter. You can do it anywhere and at any time. No wasting time driving to a gym or spending oodles of money on a personal trainer. Read on to learn how to start a running program that is right for you.

Where to Begin?

Start small – at first, aim for 15-20 minutes of activity alternating between one minute of jogging and one minute of walking. Slowly increase the jog to walk ratio and you’ll be running longer and stronger by spring.

Need More Motivation?

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Sugar and Sleep

Are you struggling to keep your eyes open at work yet are wired around 10pm when you should be heading to bed? What you are eating and drinking is probably to blame for these unhealthy sleep patterns. Luckily with a few tweaks to your diet, you can sleep the best you have in years.

While it is well known that drinking caffeine too late in the day can disrupt sleep, many don’t realize that eating sugar ANY time of the day can actually be more disruptive to one’s sleep patterns. This phenomenon is due to something that nutritionists like to call the “insulin roller coaster” — or the constant high-low change of blood sugar and insulin levels caused by too much sugar in the diet. Aside from other problems, the insulin roller coaster takes your energy levels along for the ride, meaning unpredictable waves of alertness and drowsiness throughout the day.

Eliminating or even reducing sugar in the diet can dramatically affect one’s quality of sleep and consequently energy levels. Within days of stabilizing one’s blood sugar levels, people on sugar free diets (including myself) report sleeping like a baby, waking energized, happy, and ready to tackle the day. Personally, I am more alert and focused. I have boundless energy and motivation during the day, but still get the proper “time to go to sleep” messages from my body at night so I can unwind and give my body the proper rest it needs.

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Less is More - Barre Lessons from Fitness Expert Mary Guarente

Mary Guarente is the owner of the Body in Motion studio in Wellesley, Ma. First established in 2002 as a Pilates studio, Body in Motion has become home to Mary's own trade-marked Barfusion workout. Whether looking to tone muscle, loose weight, yet hardly break a sweat this class is for you. Learn more about this latest fintess craze and the person who created it.

How did Body in Motion come to be?

I needed a job. I had a sister who taught Pilates and had a background in personal training. So I just took a chance and opened a Pilates studio. It started small with a few machines and grew from there. It has been evolving ever since to reflect the current exercise trends and my philosophy about health, wellness and fitness.

What is the inspiration behind your new Barre program - Barfusion™?

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Fighting the Post-Halloween Sugar Blues

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A Heart Healthy Alternative to an American Classic - Salmon Melts

If you are anything like me, tuna fish sandwiches and specifically tuna melt sandwiches are a staple in your diet. Seeing my husband is not wild about fish I find tuna to be an easy way to get my weekly quota of good lean protein, omega-3's, and vitamin B without offending him with any fishy odors. However, when pregnant, I became hyper aware of the high mercury content in canned tuna and was feeling deprived with the one recommended tuna fish sandwich a month. So... I sought out an alternative and came up with Salmon Melts.

Salmon has a much lower mercury level than tuna, moreover is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids, and a variety of vitamins, which all help protect against heart disease and cancer. You can purchase canned wild salmon at your local grocery store next to canned tuna. I like the version without skin or bones. Trader Joes sells an inexpensive pink salmon variety. Sockeye (or red) salmon is considered to be the highest quality but unfortunately the price tag reflects this.

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Lessons in Lunchboxes

With the new school year comes the nightly chore of packing school lunches for your children. For most of us, that does not include a multiple course school lunch consisting of braised leeks and Roquefort cheese, as Pamela Druckerman describes in Bringing Up Bebe. However, after reading Druckerman’s account of parenting techniques in France, I do think we Americans could gain invaluable insights from the French approach to children’s nutrition.

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Interview with Healthy Habits Kitchen Founder Susan Schochet

How did Healthy Habits Kitchen come to be?

When I was a busy executive I always struggled with eating healthy because I was so short on time. My friends with kids seemed to have the same struggle. I wanted to come up with a solution that allows anyone to put a healthy meal on the table in convenient way and that is how Healthy Habits Kitchen was born.

What steps do you take in your own kitchen to simplify the process of cooking healthy foods?

Similar to our meal kits, I prepare ingredients in advance and into easy to use components so that the time-consuming prep work is done ahead of time. This way it’s just a matter of assembling and cooking the ingredients so that I can put a meal together very easily. It’s a relief at the end of a busy day to know that a healthy, homemade meal is only minutes away.

Where do you get your inspiration for new recipes?

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5 Ways to Fuel Future Olympians

With the 2012 London Summer Olympics commencing on Friday, many of us adults find ourselves inspired by the athletes’ talent, drive, and dedication. For our kids, however, the Olympic dream is still a possibility. So why not set your child up for success by serving them whole nutritious foods, which strengthen both the mind and body. Simply follow the below health tips and help fuel your own future Olympian!

Breakfast of Champions – Without question, breakfast is the meal that makes champions. Unfortunately, many busy families follow a lifestyle that eliminates breakfast or includes convenience foods that do not support medal-worthy performances. Just as you make the time to refuel your car with gasoline before a big trip, so too take the time to feed your child with nutrient dense foods before they start their day. Foods that combine carbohydrates and protein provide sustained energy and prevent kids from reaching for sugary snacks later in the day. Try oatmeal topped with berries and milk, an omelet with cheese and vegetables, or whole grain toast slathered with nut butter.

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Formula for Olympic Success

For athletes competing in the 2012 London Summer Olympics taking care of the body through nutrition, exercise, meditation, and other self-care strategies is a full-time job. Learn what Americas’ best athletes do to stay healthy, happy, and fit. Then try incorporating a few of these trick of the trade into your own life and be rewarded with Olympic worthy results.

Eat fresh, local, organic foods

It is true that professional athletes could eat anything and not gain weight but in order for them to feel and perform at their best, it is paramount that they fuel themselves with the most nutrient dense foods possible. 11-time Olympic medalist for USA Swimming, Natalie Coughlin, is a self-described food lover, urban farmer, and avid cook. She is fully committed to eating local and organic foods and actually grows most of her own food in her yard and raises chickens for fresh eggs. Watch here for more insights into how nutrition plays an integral part in Natalie’s training philosophy and note what she makes for breakfast – I like to call it the new enlightened Breakfast of Champions!

Sleep & Rest

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